Jockeys embroiled in new betting scandal

Patrick Bartley

JUST four months after champion jockey Damien Oliver was outed for 10 months for placing a $10,000 bet, another three jockeys are embroiled in a betting scandal.

Former leading New Zealand jockey Michael Walker, Australia's most skilled female rider Michelle Payne and country jockey Anthony Darmanin have been summoned to a Racing Victoria stewards inquiry on Tuesday to face allegations that they bet on racehorses and were wagering on sporting events.

Racing Victoria revealed that the largest bet wagered was placed by Payne on dual Cox Plate winner So You Think when racing in England last year. The $100 wager was lodged on the 2am (Australian time) race. The horse was unsuccessful.

The bets range from $100 down to $1, a far cry from the Oliver wager that netted the banned jockey more than $11,000.

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In total the trio wagered just over $600 in a series of bets on racing, English Premier League soccer, US basketball and baseball, as well as the AFL. The betting activities were uncovered by an audit carried out by Racing Victoria stewards on betting accounts

Jockeys are permitted to have telephone betting accounts and gamble on sporting events, but not on horse racing.

Walker, who is sidelined after a hip operation, was considered one of the best jockeys in Australasia, winning multiple riding premierships before crossing the Tasman.

While the amounts are far smaller than Oliver's the matter has come at a bad time for racing, which has experienced a run of integrity breaches with several trainers fined or suspended for administrating race-day treatments.

The industry was rocked late last year when it was revealed Oliver wagered $10,000 on Miss Octopussy in a race at Moonee Valley in 2010, in which he rode another horse, Europa Point.

Miss Octopussy won the event. The bet was lodged on Oliver's behalf by former AFL footballer Mark Hunter with Queensland bookmaker Laurie Bricknell.

Leading trainer Robert Smerdon became another victim of the Oliver affair after he was fined $10,000 by the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board for passing on $11,000 to Oliver at his Caulfield home. Smerdon was given the money by Hunter after collecting the winning bet.

After a controversial chain of events, in which Oliver was permitted to ride during the rich spring carnival, he was disqualified for eight months and suspended for a further two months.

As a direct result of the Oliver case penalties for jockeys betting on races have been significantly ramped up and those new guidelines will come into force in early March.

Racing authorities are acutely aware of the image problem punting riders create, and Racing Victoria is determined to stamp out betting, race fixing and drug use.

While the trio facing the stewards next week are only small-time players, some jockeys have bet large amounts.

Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Blake Shinn and fellow rider Peter Robl turned over $300,000 more than two years ago.

The account was held in the name of Elaine Robl, the wife of the jockey, while Shinn's mother Carol pumped money into the account at the request of her son.

Shinn was outed for a year, Robl received a 12-month disqualification.